Irish retailer SuperValu has retained its position as the top supermarket in the country, according to the latest figures from Kantar Worldpanel.
The figures for the 12 weeks ending 18 June 2017 also reveal that the Irish grocery market has grown at the fastest rate since January 2017.
Grocery Growth
“The grocery sector grew by €80 million over the past 12 weeks – that’s a 3.5% increase on the year before,” said Cora Campbell, consumer-insight director at Kantar Worldpanel.
“While average pack prices are down, shoppers are choosing to take advantage of this recent period of deflation by adding more items to their baskets per trip, driving the market’s overall growth.”
“In the face of continuing competition, the major retailers’ investment in developing and improving their own-brand lines is paying off. Overall sales of private-label goods are up by 4.2%, and they now account for 54% of grocery spend – the highest proportion since March this year.”
Supermarket Performance
SuperValu has the highest market share in the country for the second period in a row, but its lead over supermarket giant Tesco has narrowed to 0.2 percentage points.
“SuperValu can’t remain complacent. Second-place retailer Tesco is growing ahead of the market, at 3.8%,” added Campbell.
Despite a drop in shopper numbers, the figures show SuperValu's customers are spending an extra €0.60 each time they shop, contributing to a 2.5% increase in overall sales.
Dunnes Stores remains the strongest-growing retailer, increasing value sales by 4.5%, while discount supermarkets Lidl and Aldi experienced increases of 3.3% and 3.7%, respectively.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Sarah Harford. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
